Ph: ICLEI Europe

The SchoolFood4Change Horizon 2020 project has entered its fourth year of activity, and all partners gathered in Lyon for the 4th General Assembly, 3-6 June 2025, to share results, impacts, and best practices.

The event brought together more than 50 participants from over 30 partner organizations across Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania to celebrate the journey carried out within the project to improve school meals through innovations in diets, education, and public procurement.

The meeting was hosted by the City of Lyon, together with the Délice Network, and organized by ICLEI Europe, leading partner of the SF4C consortium.

Participants – with a strong representation from local governments – presented their main achievements and impacts, especially in relation to school engagement and procurement innovation. Municipalities involved in the replication phase also shared their action plans and exchanged experiences to strengthen their initiatives.

Many of the attending local administrations are also signatories of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, which provided added value to the project in terms of knowledge exchange and shared expertise.

Among the key outcomes presented during the meeting: the Whole School Food Approach, promoted by Rikolto, and the Handbook for the Design of School Menus, published by the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, emerged as essential tools. These have been adapted across a wide range of contexts to foster innovation in school catering systems.

Ph: ICLEI Europe

During the event, the Deputy Mayor of Milan, Anna Scavuzzo, joined online to contribute to the presentation of the “Lyon’s Call to Action for a Healthy and Sustainable Food Future”, reaffirming Milan’s commitment to a school food transition guided by its Food Policy. She highlighted the city’s focus on the use of organic ingredients, short supply chains, and food waste reduction in school meals.

Deputy Mayor Scavuzzo also emphasized the importance of city-to-city cooperation: “Through the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, we are building alliances between cities to exchange knowledge, models, and inclusive approaches to school canteens. This Call to Action supports our ongoing efforts and urges us to be even more proactive in creating local and international funding opportunities across different contexts.”

This topic will also be central to the upcoming Global Forum of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, taking place in Milan next October, where city priorities will be discussed and shared among mayors and food system experts from around the world.

The School Food For Change journey toward sustainable school meals is ongoing, but all partners agree: the more collaboration, the greater the impact!

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